Mortgage Rates lowest on record!

Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level on record, giving consumers added incentive to lock in low payments on home purchases and refinancings.

Mortgage rates have fallen over the past two months. Investors wary of the European debt crisis and the turbulent stock market have shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds, driving down yields. Mortgage rates tend to track the yields on long-term Treasury debt.

Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.69 percent, from 4.75 percent last week.
That's the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. The previous record of 4.71 percent was set in December. Rates for 15-year and five-year mortgages also hit lows.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to an average of 4.13 percent, the lowest on records dating to September 1991 and down from 4.2 percent a week earlier.

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Phoenix economy slowly recovering

The Phoenix economy is slowly recovering, according to reports.

The Brookings' Mountain Monitor report, found recently the Valley's real estate-based economy is struggling to rebound. The Monitor identifies a number of economic success indicators and compares data for the region's major metropolitan areas.

There are many reasons for the slow recovery in employment, according to the Monitor. With the Valley's economy based largely on growth and real estate, there were few other major industries to support the region after the housing bust and the financial meltdown. Real-estate and construction jobs disappeared, followed by jobs at businesses that fed off the industry, the report said.

According to the U.S. Labor Department, Arizona had a 9.1 percent unemployment rate in 2009, up 6 percent the previous year.

Anthem Foreclosures on the Rise

The number of foreclosures in Anthem quadrupled during the first five months of this year, according to numbers provided by a national firm that tracks the data. Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Services, IMAPP Inc company based in Tampa, Fla., collects property and tax information from counties such as Maricopa County. The numbers for the Anthem community show that foreclosures rose over the past three years:

• 2010: 288 houses were foreclosed on, January through May.
• 2009: 69 houses were foreclosed on, January through June; 148 houses July through December.
• 2008: Two homes were foreclosed on, January through June; 15 houses July through December.

The Anthem Community Council wrote off $433,608.19 of uncollectable debt from fees that council had assessed homeowners. These accounts were 999 days past due (3 yrs) and most of the people had moved out of state and there is no way to collect according to spokesperson, Karen Angelo.

Based on this current information, we can expect more lender owned property inventory to continue entering the market for quite some time.

Does Arizona have a redemption period for homeowners after foreclosure?

Does Arizona Law Allow for a Redemption Period After a Foreclosure?

I have had many buyers that are purchasing bank owned properties ask me this question:

Can the homeowner that has been foreclosed on have a redemption period to get their property back?

Does Arizona Law Allow for a Redemption Period After a Foreclosure?

Arizona law does allow the borrower a set amount of time after the foreclosure sale to redeem the property if the property foreclosure occurred through the judicial system and the property was not abandoned prior to the foreclosure. If those two criteria are met then the borrower has six months from the date of the foreclosure sale to pay all outstanding loan amounts, fees and costs and to redeem the property. However, if the foreclosure occurs out of court, a so called non judicial foreclosure, then the borrower does not have the right to redeem the property.

Keep in mind, most of our Foreclosures are by Trustee Sales which are non-judical.

Arizona Monsoon Season begins June 15th

For decades, the Weather Service marked the monsoon with a technical measurement. The monsoon began when the average daily dew point was 55 degrees or greater for three consecutive days. The season began on the first of those days.
Typically, that meant the first week of July.

But in 2008, the Weather Service decided to keep things simple. The Arizona monsoon season, it says, starts June 15 and ends Sept. 30.

The idea was that people were getting too hung up on figuring out when the season started and were not paying attention to the storms. Those can be quite dangerous, with high winds, lightning and some flash flooding. So, the Weather Service put an end to all that and gave dates to the season. "It's basically summer plus a week or two on either side," said Doug Green of the Weather Service.

Monsoon facts

Recent start dates

2000: June 17

2001: June 21

2002: July 9

2003: July 18

2004: July 12

2005: July 18

2006: July 2

2007: July 19

2008: July 3*

2009: June 30*

Average rainfall by month

June: .09 inch

July: .99 inch

Aug.: .94 inch

Sept.: .75 inch

*Unofficial.

Source: National Weather Service

Adult Communities seem to be maintaining their value

Age-restricted communities have weathered the housing crash and the down economy better than other developments. Read more:
http://www.kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=861

PebbleCreek in Goodyear is a gated, Active Adult Golf Community offering two championship golf courses, indoor and outdoor pools, whirlpools, saunas, tennis, state of the art fitness centers, bocce and pickleball courts, creative arts center, performance/movie theatre, aerobics, yoga, dance, and social clubs are available to keep residents active and enjoying the beautiful sunny weather here in Phoenix, AZ.

Whether it is a place to call home all year round or a second home to escape the cold winter months, enjoy resort style living at its best! If you are moving from out of state, consider a furnished home, priced under $200k.

More info and photos: http://homeinpebblecreek.com/

Helpful website links to help keep your home cooler

Several websites offer cost-saving energy tips to help keep your home cooler this summer.

Alliance to Save Energy - offers money-saving energy practices and improvements for the summer months. www.ase.org/content/article/detail/1078

U.S. Dept. of Energy - offers a variety of home-related topics and discusses summer energy savings. www.energysavers.gov/seasonal/

More Resource links:

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